3.

Rotary drilling

o What is rotary drilling?

o Forms of rotary drive
o Rotary mud drilling
o How the rotary drill string works
o Rotary drill string components
o Suspension and drive components
o Drill collars or stabiliser bars
o Reamers and drill collar stabilisers.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

 nts
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 o What is rotary drilling?

o Rotary drilling is any form of

drilling that makes a hole by
turning the bit on the bottom of
the hole.
o It involves rotation as opposed to
the up and down action of
percussion drilling.
o Rotary drill bits are usually
considerably larger in diameter
than the drill pipe.
o Fluid circulation is used to clear
the cuttings.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

Rotary bits and tools

o The rotary bit drive

o Rotary blade bits
o Rotary roller bit design
o Chip clearing with roller bits
o Bits for soft formations
o Bits for medium formations
o Roller bits for hard formations
o IADC Roller cone bit classification
o Maintaining tricone bits
o Rotary undercutters and hole openers
o Overburden drilling methods.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

o Rotary blade bits

Unconsolidated formations: These

formations are cut with bits having a forged
or hard-faced edge suited to stirring.
Circulation fluid is directed towards the
bottom of the hole through the bit nozzle.

In contrast, hard clays and consolidated

formations are cut better if a sharp cutting
edge is provided. The edge is usually hard
faced or fitted with carbide inserts to resist
wear. Some formations form better chips if a
ploughing action is provided using a finger
type drag bit.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

 o Rotary roller bit design

Roller bits offer many variations, and notable

design differences include:

o tooth material, shape, height, and

spacing
o cone rolling patterns resulting from
changes in shape of the cone and in
alignment of the cone axes
o placement, size, and direction of the
openings or nozzles directing flow of the
circulation fluid
o types of bearings, with differing
provision for bearing lubrication.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

 o Bits for soft formations

o A roller bit for soft formations with low

compressive strength (e.g. calcite,
shale, clay) is designed with long
teeth to give large penetration and
large ‘rolling chips’, but with
comparatively light weight and
downwards pressure.
o Widely spaced teeth allow for easier
clearing of the ‘sticky’ chips typical of
clay and shale.
o Normally, soft formation bits are run
with relatively low weight, for example,
ranging from 500 to 1400 kg (1100 to
3000 lb) per inch of bit diameter.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

 o Bits for medium formations

o Bits for medium formations will have a

greater number of shorter, more closely
spaced teeth, as this design change
provides a more chipping-crushing action.
o Bits with teeth comprising chisel-shaped
tungsten carbide inserts and carbide gauge
and shoulder facings are available.
o Weights generally range from 500 to 2300
kg (1100 to 5000 lb per inch bit diameter)
and rotation can range from 60 to 100 rpm.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

 o Bits for hard formations

o Hard rock cannot be torn or cut – it must be

fractured.
o High thrust loading is required (e.g. 1800 to
3000 kg, or 4000 to 6000 lb per inch bit
diameter).
o The teeth in hard formation bits are either
case-hardened steel or tungsten carbide
inserts with conical or hemispherical ends.
o To avoid slipping or skidding on the bottom,
the bits are rotated at low speeds (e.g. 40–
80 rpm).

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

 o Drill collars or stabiliser bars

When a bit is connected directly to the drill pipe,

the bending of the pipe allows the hole to deviate
severely.
Sometimes a bit stabiliser is run to control the bit.
The bit stabiliser is a large diameter, thin-walled
tube. It provides direction control but not weight.
The drill pipe still runs in compression.

Care of drill collars:

The drill collars themselves are in compression
and will buckle. But since the tube itself is stiffer
than the tube in a drill pipe, the bending occurs
at the joint. Tool joints in the drill collars must be
given even greater care than the drill pipe joints.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

 o Rotary mud drilling

o Drilling muds have evolved enormously

since 1901, when the first major
petroleum discovery using rotary drilling
and circulating mud was made at
Spindletop, near Beaumont, Texas,
USA.
o The Spindletop mud was simply water
made viscous by hydrating clay cuttings.
o Today, mud are complex mixtures of
bentonite, polymers, thinners, barite and
a host of other ingredients that must
accomplish several tasks.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

Fluid Circulation System

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

Drilling fluid roles

The drilling fluid plays several

functions in the drilling process.

The most important are:

o clean the rock fragments from beneath the
bit and carry them to surface.
o exert sufficient hydrostatic pressure against
the formation to prevent formation fluids
from flowing into the well.
o maintain stability of the borehole walls.
o cool and lubricate the drillstring and bit.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017
Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017
Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017
Drilling fluid in wellbore

In wellbore:
o The drilling fluid then flows down the
rotating drillstring and jets out through
nozzles in the drill bit at the bottom of the
hole.
o The drilling fluid picks the rock cuttings
generated by the drill bit action on the
formation.
o The drilling fluid then flows up the
borehole through the annular space
between the rotating drillstring and
borehole wall.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

Drilling fluid at surface

At surface:
At the top of the well (and above the tank level), the drilling fluid
flows through the flow line to a series of screens called the
shale shaker.

o The shale shaker is designed to separate

the cuttings from the drilling mud.
o Other devices are also used to clean the
drilling fluid before it flows back into the
drilling fluid pits.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017
the cleanest and best-conditioned
mud on location

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017
Single Tube Reverse Circulation:
o Reverse circulation (RC) moves the
fluid down the borehole outside the drill
pipe, into the bit, and up the inside of
the drill pipe.
o This technique was originally developed
to drill large diameter bores (up to 1.2
m) in unconsolidated formations
efficiently, but has since been adapted
for many purposes.
o Most RC drilling of this type is done with
water rather than with an engineered
mud, or with a very light mud.
o RC requires very large mud pits that
must be transported or dug by dozer.

Subsurface Geology 440G: Geology Department, SVU, 2017